I was reminded recently that it’s important to ALWAYS read labels!
I made a cake for my son’s birthday recently. I was very disappointed that many ready-made frostings contained gluten! But this brand — Pillsbury — was gluten-free! Thank you, Pillsbury!

So let’s start with the bad news: I made GF cupcakes (Aldi GF cake mix) for my son’s 7th birthday last week and had NO idea that the store-bought frosting had wheat! UGH! Normally I make buttercream frosting from scratch, but he wanted chocolate frosting, so I cheat a bit by buying chocolate frosting in a can and then adding some Crisco, meringue powder and powdered sugar to increase the volume. Tastes great and chocolaty. … but I learned my lesson: ALWAYS CHECK THE LABEL! 😦

GOOD NEWS! Cherrios is GLUTEN-FREE!!!!!!!! And not just the regular flavor — the Apples & Cinnamon, the Frosted, the Honey-Nut and the Multi-grain — are ALL gluten-free!!! Let’s give a shout-out to General Mills for improving their products for the health of everyone and especially those of us who are gluten-sensitive/intolerant or Celiac!

So … earlier this week, ground beef was on sale, and sloppy joes with baked French fries sounded really good. …

If you’re gluten-free, you can still enjoy sloppy joes, just a little differently. Of course, you can purchase GF sandwich rolls/buns, but if you don’t have those, you can top a baked potato, tortilla chips, or french fries with your sloppy joe mixture along with some shredded cheese.

Manwich® brand sloppy joe sauce is gluten-free (as far as I read the label), and it makes for a quick & easy midweek meal served along with salad and/or fresh fruit.

Here’s an easy version of Cheesy Sloppy Joes with Fries using Manwich® and ground beef topped with shredded cheese, and it’s pretty tasty too!

First, bake GF frozen French fries in oven according to direction.

Then top fries with sloppy joe mixture and shredded cheese.

If you have the time and want to make your own Sloppy Joe sauce, here is an easy GF version: combine ¾-1 cup ketchup, ¼ cup brown sugar, salt & pepper to taste, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon vinegar in a mixing bowl; brown meat with 1 small chopped onion, then add sauce. Stir well and heat through.

We had had a full, late lunch after church, so I wanted to make something quick and light for dinner. I saw this idea somewhere online, so here’s my version of it: Ham & Cheese Breakfast Cups! It was a huge hit at the Houts home — delicious and fun!

I don’t bake much but when I do I try to come up with recipes that are very easy. No need to buy tons of gluten free flours and other expensive ingredients. This recipe is a wonderful chocolate hazelnut cookie with no flour. I made them for a party and it was a hit!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Nutella

1 Egg

1 Cup Sugar

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 Pinch Salt

1 tsp Vanilla

Start by mixing Nutella, egg and sugar together. Add baking soda, salt and vanilla. Now roll the dough into about 1 inch balls. Place on 2-3 foiled cookie sheet. Make sure each cookie if far apart because they will spread out large. Bake for 11 minutes, remove and let cool. Cookie’s will harden as they cool. Enjoy!